Jack U (Skrillex + Diplo) Will Release 5 New Tracks in 2014

While in Kingston, Jamaica, Inthemix sat down to interview Skrillex or as the phone book knows him, Sonny Moore. In a brief discussion, Skrillex revealed that in the coming year he plans to release five new Jack U tracks, his collaboration with Diplo. This announcement coincides with his plan to focus more on producing a variety of genres instead of only wearing the dubstep shoes he’s known for.

This is exciting news for fans that have watched Sonny’s music grow and mature over the past few years, but don’t expect a wave of new Jack U material because as Sonny states, ” Jack U is…more the name we use when [we] DJ together.”

Check out the interview below and let us know who you would like to see Skrillex work with.

You have Jack U, you have Dog Blood. Are there any more side projects we should know about, or are those two enough to keep you busy?

I mean, I’ve done so many side projects. For me, that even means doing a movie likeSpring Breakers, scoring it with Cliff Martinez and Harmony Korine. That’s a whole other project where I’m immersing myself in someone’s world. Even the Disney thing I did [Wreck-It Ralph]. Each time I work outside of what Skrillex is, it feels like a side project, even if it’s not with another DJ.

Let’s talk about OWSLA for a minute. What’s your criteria for recruiting artists to the label? What are you listening out for?

Usually I can tell right away when I’m skipping through a demo. OWSLA doesn’t really have a “sound”, other than being anything I would play or listen to. And that can be bands who don’t make DJ music. It ranges from dubstep to drum & bass to electro to techno to hip-hop, and my sets are always diverse. I’ve never just played one style of music or one BPM. I’ve always jumped all over the place. The stuff that’s exciting to hear on a dance floor – that’s what I listen for first.

In 2011, your name was synonymous with dubstep, but it’s not so easy now to make that categorization. Have you been conscious of adding more shades to your sound?

It’s so funny, because if you listen to those EPs as full releases – My Name Is Skrillex, Scary Monsters… and Bangarang – there’s probably only one dubstep song per release. I think what happened was I was playing all different styles; as long as it has the right energy, I’ll make it and play it. “Bangarang” isn’t a dubstep song at all – it’s 110-BPM and it’s more electro than anything else.

I still make everything. My new record you’ll realize is not all dubstep. The majority isn’t, actually. It’s all over the place, but it’s ‘me’. It’s always maturing. It’s not a thing where I wanted to stay away from it, but overall you just don’t hear as much dubstep anymore. With trap getting big though, you have a lot of similar sounds and production techniques, so it’s all becoming one blend of shit right now, anyway.

Something about the Leaving EP, though, felt like a new side to Skrillex.

Well, the funny thing about Leaving is, if the EP was called Scary Bolly Dub or The Reason, which were the two other tracks on the EP, people would’ve taken it another way. But I think because the title track was a slowed-down song, people focused on that and thought that was the type of music I was making.

It was a funny reaction it got, I think because I called the whole EP Leaving – like I was leaving a genre or making a statement maybe? But the real reason I called it that was just because that’s the vibe I felt.”